Thank you to our Newport Harbor family for an amazing Hall of Fame on Thursday April 25, 2024. You helped us celebrate a special group of people and showed us all what true "Sailor Spirit" means, and we can't wait for our next chance to get together.
The evening began in front of the school with a meet-and-greet hour where the NHHS marching and jazz bands performed to the delight of the crowd. The students were joined by alumni to play the school’s “Alma Mater” and fight song “Anchors Aweigh” as a musical tribute to former band leader and one of the inductees Mr. Richard England.
Once everyone made their way inside the theater, the audience was greeted by Principal Sean Boulton and then stood for the National Anthem sung by two students from NHHS Vocal Music. The awesome team from TarTV filmed and livestreamed the event.
Then the MC for the evening Alex Crawford Class of 2009 got the ceremony started by welcoming three past Hall of Fame members to introduce their new fellow honorees -- first Gregg Schwenk Class of 1986, then former teacher Mr. Joe Robinson, and finally Misty May-Treanor Class of 1995.
*The sound is not available for the first 10-15 minutes of the live stream, so move ahead until you hear the speakers.
Our 7th Hall of Fame class are record-breakers, innovators, and educators. You can read all about them below, and if you can support this event with a Donation, we would be very grateful!
The Alumni inductees included:
Steve Aoki Class of 1995, record-breaking musician & philanthropist
Denny Bean Class of 1970, outstanding athlete & developer
Seymour Beek Class of 1951, community builder & master sailor
Arlene Louise Goodfield Class of 1982, trailblazing pilot
David McKenna Class of 1986, thought-provoking screenwriter
Robert Nealy Class of 1963, dedicated waterman, teacher & inventor
Gina Heads Sudaria Class of 1994, devoted athlete & educator
The honored Faculty were:
Scott & Janet Dukes, engaging science teacher & innovative culinary instructor
Richard England, inspiring band leader
Future Nominations
With over 90 years of outstanding Sailors, this year the committee had more nominations than ever before to consider and the competition was fierce. If you’ve nominated someone in the past, they will remain on the list for next time.
The committee is always looking ahead and accepting new nominations, so if you have excellent Alumni and Faculty to suggest, take a look at our past honorees for inspiration, and then let us know who else should be considered in the future.
How-to Nominate:
1) Explore those who have already been honored below
2) Read the nomination form and gather ALL the information needed
3) Fill in the form and submit (self-nominations are not accepted)
Thank You Hall of Fame Wall Donors!
We want to offer one more "Thank You" to everyone who donated in 2022 & 2023 to expand the Hall of Fame wall! When we ran out of room to honor the best of our Sailor family, you stepped up to help keep this tradition going and convert two corkboards to wood background, acrylic panels, and quality hardware. We are grateful for every donation made toward this project, especially those who gave $1,000 or more and are now recognized for their support on the panel for all to see.
Every day when students walk the NHHS halls, they pause to read about the Sailors who have gone before them. If you'd like to help us sustain this program, please consider a donation today:
History of the Hall of Fame
Our Hall of Fame tradition began in June 2014, when the Newport Harbor High School Alumni Association inducted our first Class of Alumni and Faculty. We have recognized award-winning athletes, brave military personnel, ground-breaking scientists, public servants, artists, writers and actors, as well as beloved teachers, coaches, and administrators—all individuals who reflect our alma mater’s most cherished values of good citizenship and service to others.
We celebrated our previous Hall of Fame for our 6th class on the evening of Thursday October 13, 2022 with our Sailor family. Our honorees gathered in front of the Robert B. Wentz Theater at 6:30pm to kick off a meet-and-greet hour with family and friends.
The ceremony commenced at 7:30pm with NHHS principal Dr. Sean Boulton, and Laura DeSoto (Class of 1976 and Alumni co-President) served as MC. Three past honorees Dr. Joe Corbo, Mary Lyons, and James “Walkie” Ray introduced our new Hall of Fame class. Each of our “great eight” who spoke offered inspiration about how to create a life of meaning through service to others.
You can WATCH the event or see PHOTOS from our past two events here:
FEATURED Hall of Fame Moment
Dr. Don Miyada (Class of 1942) began at Newport Harbor High School in 1938, unaware that in the next few years, world events would keep him from his graduation day. In the spring of 1942, Don Miyada and his family were sent to the Poston War Relocation Center, a Japanese Internment camp in Arizona. He treasured the NHHS diploma he received at Poston by mail, because many of his peers from other schools were not given their diplomas; however, he missed the opportunity to celebrate this accomplishment.
When the Seniors of the Class of 2014 learned of Dr. Miyada’s story, they were so moved they decided to invite him to be a part of their own ceremony, and so right a decades-old wrong.
